Traffic warning systems for aircraft are well known in the art. Such systems are intended to identify and track other aircraft in the vicinity of a particular plane and warn the pilot of those approaching or hovering aircraft that may present a hazard because of their flight vector, altitude or other factors. Such systems are important for flight safety. They may be entirely contained within the aircraft or rely on a combination of airborne and surface based systems. Either arrangement is useful. Most large commercial aircraft and military aircraft are already equipped with such traffic warning systems. These systems often rely on air traffic control (ATC) radar signals, which are not always available, or on simple transponder signals that convey little information.
The most significant limitation of such prior art traffic warning systems is their size and cost which, in general, makes them unsuitable or economically unattractive for use in relatively small private or commercial aircraft, light helicopters, ultra-light aircraft, pilot-less aircraft or drones, and other airborne platforms of limited size and cost (hereafter collectively “light aircraft”). Accordingly, a need continues to exist for a traffic warning system and method that is simple, compact and of low cost, for use in such light aircraft.
It is desirable to provide a traffic warning system and method that is especially suited for use in light aircraft, that is low in cost compared to prior art systems, and that makes substantial use of standard off-the-shelf components and communication protocols, as well as instruments that many light aircraft already carry. In addition, it is desirable that the traffic warning system and method be simple, rugged and capable of operating in different modes depending upon the avionics capabilities of aircraft in its vicinity. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.